Club America defeated Chivas in the Clausura and Apertura playoffs in 2016.

In our sometimes overly simplistic need to identify protagonists and antagonists in any dramatic narrative, sports rivalries often get framed the same way, even when black and white may very well be several shades of gray.

Think about how many Real Madrid fans are willing to admit that they're the bad guys in their rivalry with Barcelona. Or whether those who follow the New York Yankees enjoy having their team branded as the "evil empire" by Boston Red Sox supporters.

Matias Almeyda's Chivas were eliminated from the playoffs twice by Club America in 2016, but this was a positive year.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Chivas coach Matias Almeyda shuffled uncomfortably in his seat and shrugged in despair. He had just been asked if the season should be categorized as a failure after witnessing his side crash out of the 2016 Apertura quarterfinals against Club America.

"That word, again?" said Almeyda, clearly agitated by the question. "That is a difficult and hard word."

Only the harshest analysis would judge this past year a failure from a Chivas perspective, even though some will suggest...

With the Liga MX Liguilla semifinals now set, ESPN FC's Ciro Procuna breaks down how the final four teams advanced.

The quarterfinals of the Liguilla have come and gone, with Chivas, Club Tijuana, Pachuca and Pumas all bumped from the Fiesta Grande. The semifinals are set to kick off on Wednesday when Leon hosts Tigres, but before they get started, we asked our experts Tom Marshall, Cesar Hernandez and Nayib Moran what's next for the tournament's big-name losers.

Chivas

Now isn't the time to panic for Chivas. Two consecutive Liguillas under Matias Almeyda bodes well and although it hurts Chivas fans to lose...

Oribe Peralta (24) celebrates after scoring the winning goal for Club America.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- There was a certain dark irony that it was a Mexican striker who found the winning goal for Club America against all-Mexican side Chivas in the Liguilla quarterfinals on Sunday.

For a team from Mexico City made up of eight foreign starters, it was El Tri international Oribe Peralta who was the difference-maker in the 1-0 victory that sent Las Aguilas into the Apertura semifinals.

But regardless of Peralta's nationality, his display highlighted just how much Chivas could...

Chivas Guadalajara and Club America will meet in the Clasico Nacional for the seventh time in 2016 on Sunday in the second leg of the Liga MX quarterfinals. Seven meetings in one year is the most ever in Mexico's biggest rivalry.

The teams played to a 1-1 tie in the first leg. Guadalajara will advance to the semifinals with a win or a tie by either a 1-1 or a 0-0 score. According to ESPN's Soccer Power Index, Guadalajara is 65 percent more likely to advance.

Chivas host Club America in the decisive second leg of the Liguilla quarterfinals on Sunday.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Every time Chivas meet Club America in the Clasico Nacional, Mexico comes to a standstill, sits up and pays attention. But Sunday's Apertura quarterfinal second leg -- the seventh time the teams have met in 2016 -- means so much more than even the average Super Clasico.

One of Chivas or Las Aguilas -- Mexico's two most popular and successful teams -- will sign off for the Apertura season in utter dejection after being booted out of title contention by their arch rival.